ST. LOUIS— Missouri Baptist Men's Lacrosse (8-4) is trending up at the perfect time. The Spartans finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak, earning the No. 5 spot in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll and a place in the National Invitational for the second straight year.
After starting the year ranked No. 2, MBU recovered from a midseason swoon and went unbeaten (4-0) in the month of April. The Spartans knocked off two ranked teams in the form of No. 9 Ottawa (Kan.) and No. 4 Indiana Tech to battle their way back up the poll. So what changed when the calendar turned to April? Head Coach Andy Joly attributed much of the success to getting healthy.
"Getting four midfielders back was absolutely crucial," Joly said. "That gave us the roster depth we needed to wear teams down over the course of the game."
Joly also pointed to two other areas that stepped up late in the season.
"I can't say enough about our team defense. We had one of the lowest, if not the lowest, GAA (Goals against average) this year," he added. "On top of that, in the last month, our offense really bought into grinding teams down by making our offensive possessions as long as possible. The results have been awesome."
A familiar foe will be waiting for the Spartans when they arrive in Greenville, S.C.. The No. 4 seed Keiser University (Fla.) Seahawks defeated MBU 15-9 back on March 16 in Atlanta. Like the Spartans, the Seahawks are also on a roll, sporting an 8-1 record. Keiser's only blemish came by way of No. 3 Reinhardt (Ga.) in a 14-7 defeat on March 18.
MBU and Keiser will play the nightcap of the four Quarterfinal matches on Wednesday, May 3. First faceoff is scheduled for 7pm EST at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville. The full tournament schedule can be found here. The Spartans will need to win three games to claim the school's first national championship.
All the action can be watched live (for a fee) on the NAIA Network. Also be sure to follow @MBUAthleticsand @MBULacrosse on Twitter and Facebook for pictures and in-game updates.
